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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Cherimoya
| image = Cherimoya_fruit.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Cherimoya fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Magnoliales]]
| familia = [[Annonaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Annona]]''
| species = '''''A. cherimola'''''
| binomial = ''Annona cherimola''
| binomial_authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
}}
[[Image:Chirimoyalarcomuseum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Moche Cherimoya. 200 B.C. [[Larco_Museum|Larco Museum Collection]] Lima, Peru.]]
The '''cherimoya''' (''Annona cherimola'') is a species of ''[[Annona]]'' native to the [[Andes|Andean]]-highland valleys of [[Peru]] and [[Ecuador]]. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] reaching 7 m tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 7-15 cm long and 6-10 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are produced in small clusters, each flower 2-3 cm across, with six petals, yellow-brown, often spotted purple at the base.
The [[fruit]] is oval, often slightly oblique, 10-20 cm long and 7-10 cm diameter, with a smooth or slightly tuberculated skin. The fruit flesh is white, and has numerous [[seed]]s embedded in it.
[[Mark Twain]] called the cherimoya "deliciousness itself."
The [[Moche]] culture of Peru had a fascination with agriculture and represented fruits and vegetables in their art. Cherimoyas were often depicted in their ceramics. <ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the [[Larco_Museum|Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera]].'' New York: [[Thames and Hudson]], 1997.</ref>
===Cultivation and Uses===
The tree thrives throughout the subtropics at altitudes of 1300-2600m (4,000-8,500feet). The name derives from [[Quechua]] ''chirimuya'', meaning 'cold seeds', since the seeds will germinate at higher altitudes. Though sensitive to frost, it must have periods of cool temperatures or the tree will gradually go dormant. The indigenous inhabitants of the [[Andes]] say that although the cherimoya cannot stand snow, it does like to see it in the distance. It is cultivated in many places throughout the [[Americas]], including [[California]], where it was introduced in 1871, and Hawaii. In the [[Mediterranean region]], it is cultivated mainly in southern [[Spain]], [[Madeira]] and [[Israel]]. It is also grown in Taiwan.
The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a custard-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple. Some characterize the flavor as a blend of pineapple, mango and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubblegum. Similar in size to a grapefruit, it has large, glossy, dark seeds that are easily removed. The seeds are poisonous if crushed open; one should also avoid eating the skin. When ripe the skin is green and gives slightly to pressure, similar to the [[avocado]]. Ripe fruit may be kept in the refrigerator, but it is best to let immature cherimoyas ripen at room temperature. If the skin is brown, then it is good to eat and has ripened.
Fresh cherimoya contains about 15% sugar (about 60kcal/100g) and some [[vitamin C]] (up to 20mg/100g)
===Pollination===
The flowers are [[hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]], but have a mechanism to avoid self pollination. The short-lived flowers open as female, then progress to a later, male stage in a matter of hours. This requires a separate [[pollinator]] that not only can collect the [[pollen]] from [[flower]]s in the male stage, but also deposit it in flowers in the female stage. It is acknowledged that there must be such a natural pollinator, and while so far studies of insects in the cherimoya's native region have been inconclusive, some form of [[beetle]] is suspected (Schroeder 1995).
Quite often, the female flower is receptive in the early part of the first day, but pollen is not produced in the male stage until the late afternoon of the second day. [[Honey bee]]s are not good pollinators, for example, because they will only visit flowers in the male stage to collect the pollen, and then not return.
For fruit production outside the cherimoya's native region, cultivators must either rely upon the wind to spread pollen in dense orchards or else [[hand pollination|pollinate flowers by hand]]. Complicating matters is the notoriously short lifespan of cherimoya pollen.
<gallery>
Image:Cherimoya_cut_hg.jpg|Split
Image:Cherimoya_fruit_hg.jpg|Ripe fruits
Image:Cherimoya_tree_hg.jpg|Tree
Image:Cherimoya_plantage_hg.jpg|Plantation in south Andalusia
</gallery>
==Other Names==
* Anone in [[French language|French]]
* Chirimoya in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
* Custard Apple in [[English language|English]]
* Srikaya in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
* Nona in [[Malay language|Malay]]
* Laxmanphal in [[Hindi language|Hindi]]
* 釋迦, <i>Si-jia</i>, after [[Sakyamuni]] in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
==See also==
* [[Atemoya]] (a cross of ''A. squamosa'' and ''A. cherimola'')
* [[Custard-apple]] (''Annona reticulata'')
* [[Pawpaw]] (''Asimina spp'')
* [[Sugar-apple]] (''Annona squamosa'')
== References ==
<references/>
Dr. Hannia Bridg, Micropropagation of Selected Trees. http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/dissertationen/bridg-hannia-2000-03-24/HTML/index.html
==External Links==
*Schroeder, C. A. (1995). [http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/acotanc/papers/schroede.htm Pollination Strategy in the Cherimoya].
*[http://cherimoya.orcon.net.nz/600x800.html Cherimoya website]
*Owens, K. J.(2003). [http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/people/1999/owensKristina.pdf Genetic diversity of ''Annona cherimola'' Mill. in south central Bolivia].
* Scheldeman, X. (2002). [https://archive.ugent.be/retrieve/729/19891529.pdf Distribution and potential of cherimoya (''Annona cherimola'' Mill.) and highland papayas (''Vasconcellea'' spp.) in Ecuador]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Magnoliales]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:Pollination]]
[[Category:Trees of Bolivia]]
[[Category:Trees of Colombia]]
[[Category:Trees of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Trees of Peru]]
| color = lightgreen
| name = Cherimoya
| image = Cherimoya_fruit.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Cherimoya fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Magnoliales]]
| familia = [[Annonaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Annona]]''
| species = '''''A. cherimola'''''
| binomial = ''Annona cherimola''
| binomial_authority = [[Philip Miller|Mill.]]
}}
[[Image:Chirimoyalarcomuseum.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Moche Cherimoya. 200 B.C. [[Larco_Museum|Larco Museum Collection]] Lima, Peru.]]
The '''cherimoya''' (''Annona cherimola'') is a species of ''[[Annona]]'' native to the [[Andes|Andean]]-highland valleys of [[Peru]] and [[Ecuador]]. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] reaching 7 m tall. The [[leaf|leaves]] are alternate, simple, oblong-lanceolate, 7-15 cm long and 6-10 cm broad. The [[flower]]s are produced in small clusters, each flower 2-3 cm across, with six petals, yellow-brown, often spotted purple at the base.
The [[fruit]] is oval, often slightly oblique, 10-20 cm long and 7-10 cm diameter, with a smooth or slightly tuberculated skin. The fruit flesh is white, and has numerous [[seed]]s embedded in it.
[[Mark Twain]] called the cherimoya "deliciousness itself."
The [[Moche]] culture of Peru had a fascination with agriculture and represented fruits and vegetables in their art. Cherimoyas were often depicted in their ceramics. <ref>Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. ''The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the [[Larco_Museum|Museo Arqueológico Rafael Larco Herrera]].'' New York: [[Thames and Hudson]], 1997.</ref>
===Cultivation and Uses===
The tree thrives throughout the subtropics at altitudes of 1300-2600m (4,000-8,500feet). The name derives from [[Quechua]] ''chirimuya'', meaning 'cold seeds', since the seeds will germinate at higher altitudes. Though sensitive to frost, it must have periods of cool temperatures or the tree will gradually go dormant. The indigenous inhabitants of the [[Andes]] say that although the cherimoya cannot stand snow, it does like to see it in the distance. It is cultivated in many places throughout the [[Americas]], including [[California]], where it was introduced in 1871, and Hawaii. In the [[Mediterranean region]], it is cultivated mainly in southern [[Spain]], [[Madeira]] and [[Israel]]. It is also grown in Taiwan.
The fruit is fleshy and soft, sweet, white in color, with a custard-like texture, which gives it its secondary name, custard apple. Some characterize the flavor as a blend of pineapple, mango and strawberry. Others describe it as tasting like commercial bubblegum. Similar in size to a grapefruit, it has large, glossy, dark seeds that are easily removed. The seeds are poisonous if crushed open; one should also avoid eating the skin. When ripe the skin is green and gives slightly to pressure, similar to the [[avocado]]. Ripe fruit may be kept in the refrigerator, but it is best to let immature cherimoyas ripen at room temperature. If the skin is brown, then it is good to eat and has ripened.
Fresh cherimoya contains about 15% sugar (about 60kcal/100g) and some [[vitamin C]] (up to 20mg/100g)
===Pollination===
The flowers are [[hermaphrodite|hermaphroditic]], but have a mechanism to avoid self pollination. The short-lived flowers open as female, then progress to a later, male stage in a matter of hours. This requires a separate [[pollinator]] that not only can collect the [[pollen]] from [[flower]]s in the male stage, but also deposit it in flowers in the female stage. It is acknowledged that there must be such a natural pollinator, and while so far studies of insects in the cherimoya's native region have been inconclusive, some form of [[beetle]] is suspected (Schroeder 1995).
Quite often, the female flower is receptive in the early part of the first day, but pollen is not produced in the male stage until the late afternoon of the second day. [[Honey bee]]s are not good pollinators, for example, because they will only visit flowers in the male stage to collect the pollen, and then not return.
For fruit production outside the cherimoya's native region, cultivators must either rely upon the wind to spread pollen in dense orchards or else [[hand pollination|pollinate flowers by hand]]. Complicating matters is the notoriously short lifespan of cherimoya pollen.
<gallery>
Image:Cherimoya_cut_hg.jpg|Split
Image:Cherimoya_fruit_hg.jpg|Ripe fruits
Image:Cherimoya_tree_hg.jpg|Tree
Image:Cherimoya_plantage_hg.jpg|Plantation in south Andalusia
</gallery>
==Other Names==
* Anone in [[French language|French]]
* Chirimoya in [[Spanish language|Spanish]]
* Custard Apple in [[English language|English]]
* Srikaya in [[Indonesian language|Indonesian]]
* Nona in [[Malay language|Malay]]
* Laxmanphal in [[Hindi language|Hindi]]
* 釋迦, <i>Si-jia</i>, after [[Sakyamuni]] in [[Chinese language|Chinese]]
==See also==
* [[Atemoya]] (a cross of ''A. squamosa'' and ''A. cherimola'')
* [[Custard-apple]] (''Annona reticulata'')
* [[Pawpaw]] (''Asimina spp'')
* [[Sugar-apple]] (''Annona squamosa'')
== References ==
<references/>
Dr. Hannia Bridg, Micropropagation of Selected Trees. http://edoc.hu-berlin.de/dissertationen/bridg-hannia-2000-03-24/HTML/index.html
==External Links==
*Schroeder, C. A. (1995). [http://www.newcrops.uq.edu.au/acotanc/papers/schroede.htm Pollination Strategy in the Cherimoya].
*[http://cherimoya.orcon.net.nz/600x800.html Cherimoya website]
*Owens, K. J.(2003). [http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/people/1999/owensKristina.pdf Genetic diversity of ''Annona cherimola'' Mill. in south central Bolivia].
* Scheldeman, X. (2002). [https://archive.ugent.be/retrieve/729/19891529.pdf Distribution and potential of cherimoya (''Annona cherimola'' Mill.) and highland papayas (''Vasconcellea'' spp.) in Ecuador]
[[Category:Crops originating from the Americas]]
[[Category:Magnoliales]]
[[Category:Fruit]]
[[Category:Pollination]]
[[Category:Trees of Bolivia]]
[[Category:Trees of Colombia]]
[[Category:Trees of Ecuador]]
[[Category:Trees of Peru]]
